On September 11th, 1714, Barcelona surrendered and fell to the Castilian army. Catalonia, which has been a sovereign nation up to that point, lost its national rights and liberties, with its own laws abolished and Catalan language and culture banned.
Every September 11th the Catalans want to remember what it was like not to be free, many of them continue to demonstrate in the streets to demand recognition of their national rights and liberties and a greater degree of self-government.
In 1979 the new Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia was approved, giving the country its own institutions and government.
The national day is an occasion for singing the Catalan National Anthem and for separatist demonstrations and meetings. Since the year 2000, around two hundred institutions from Catalan Civil society have staged an event that includes an exhibition of these organizations, the reading of a manifesto that has the support of all the organizations involved and finally a music concert to round off the celebration.
On September 11th there will be concerts, demonstrations and parades throughout Barcelona, you will see many Catalan flags on balconies all over the city an throughout the region. According to a legend, la Senyera (as the Catalan Flag is called) was first used during the 900′s. That makes it one of the oldest flags in Europe still in use.
